This chapter was a tad bit more difficult than I thought it would be to write. Oh well, I figured it out finally :^)
Sorry if I don't update at least once a week (like I originally planned). I have a lot of summer assignments that need to get done, and it's been a bit stressing. But I'm posting as often as I can. Please don't give up on meee :3
Yes. On with the story. Wooo~
Joey's P.O.V.
The front door slammed so loudly that we heard it from the basement. "LLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOYYYYYDDDD!"
Uncle Jay laughed. "Sounds like the wife's mad at you."
"That's YOUR wife, idiot," Cole pointed out, causing Uncle Jay to pale a little.
Aunt Nya came running down the basement steps before any of us could react. She grabbed Lloyd's shirt in her fist and held his face close to hers. I don't think I've ever seen her so pissed. "I thought you said only the OLDEST MALE child possessed elemental powers? Yea, well you're WRONG."
Those two argued a bit, but basically it was determined that Sensei Wu said it was very rare for more than one child to exhibit elemental powers, and of course, we had TWO special cases.
Of course that meant the twins got their hopes up. Ryan and Zack both wanted to be the green ninja, and if only one of them could, they'd practically be enemies for life.
"Also, um... at the house..." Melissa started, but couldn't seem to finish.
"We heard Derek commanding the Serpentine," Amanda continued.
"I actually saw him inside the house for a second. It was definitely him," Kru finished.
"Welp, that confirms it. We're screwed," Uncle Jay started, clearly on the edge of a long rambling, but Aunt Nya kissed him to shut him up. Ew.
"Did everyone bring their cookie box?" Lloyd asked seriously. Why was he worried about cookies at a time like this?! That sounds like something COLE would say, NOT Lloyd.
Uncle Jay, Cole, and Zane nodded, but Dad paled. "Uh, I think it was at the house when the Serpentine attacked." He face-palmed.
Kru brought over the suitcase Mom gave me the night Steph and I fled the Serpentine. "Don't worry, Kai, it's right here." Upon closer inspection, "COOKIES" was written in Sharpie on the side of the suitcase. I was really confused... Mom gave us cookies?!
The other kids looked just as confused as I did, and the other former ninja (minus Lloyd) brought out suitcases of their own, also marked "COOKIES". They all opened their suitcases and pulled out different gold weapons. As if this were a sacred ceremony, each ninja brought the weapon he brought to his son.
Uncle Jay to Brian: These are the nunchucks of lightning.
Cole to Toby: This is the scythe of quakes.
Dad to me: This is the sword of fire.
And finally, Zane to Tyler: These are the shurikens of ice.
"These are the golden weapons. You need to protect these at all costs," Lloyd told us as we took the weapons from our fathers. "With proper training, you should be able to unlock the weapons' true potentials."
Of course, as soon as Tyler had his hands on the shurikens, he began throwing them like ninja stars throughout the room. Zane immediately took them back. "You can have these back once you mature a little more," he said.
The adults had a long talk, and it was decided that since Derek and the Serpentine were obviously after us, we had to start training a LOT faster.
Since that day, the adults all took turns training us, because, well, they're old and easily tired. Steph and Jess trained with us to control our powers. Amanda and Aunt Nya taught them basic fighting skills as well. In a secret room in Lloyd's basement, he had an obstacle course that he said would help us learn spinjitzu. Everyone went through it at least once a day to help us stay in shape - even the adults.
We finally found our green ninja. One day during training, Ryan shot out a blast of ice. At the EXACT same time, Zack shot out a blast of fire. As it turns out, the responsibility of the green ninja was split between the twins; Ryan had ice and earth powers, while Zack had fire and lightning. When they worked together, they were able to create a ball of green energy. As for Toby, Tyler, Brian and I, we learned to control our powers shortly after that.
Jessica, on the other hand, had already taught herself to use her lightning powers. She admitted to discovering her lightning over 2 years ago, and, wanting to keep it a secret, tried to control it on her own.
Steph was... harder. She couldn't sit still long enough to focus on her powers, and when she did, it was out of control. Somehow she managed to possess ALL the elemental powers, which made everything even more complicated. Dad said that she inherited it from Mom, since she had all four elements as well. Lloyd offered to train her privately, but private training hasn't been very helpful.
Toby and Jess started dating after a while. It was kind of weird, but I didn't question it. I mean, they weren't related by blood, so why should it matter?
Ever since that night the girls encountered the Serpentine, we haven't heard anything from them.
One day during training, Tyler had another one of his famous fits of rage when he couldn't get a fighting tactic down. This time, he actually stormed out of the house. Lloyd sent all the kids upstairs to take a break, but I hid in the staircase. Whenever the kids were forced to leave, that meant the adults were going to talk about us.
Aunt Nya, Amanda, Kru, and Melissa were all out shopping, so it was just the five ninja in the basement. Uncle Jay, Cole, and Lloyd were cleaning up the basement, but Zane was sitting with his head in his hands. Dad was trying to comfort him or something.
"You can't blame yourself for this, Zane," Dad said. "It's just in his blood, I guess. I doubt it's because you're a bad father, because you're NOT a bad father."
"Hold on a sec," Cole interrupted. "If it's in his blood, wouldn't that mean it is Zane's fault? Not trying to make it worse or anything..." Yes you are, I thought. Cole sucks at comforting people.
Zane's response changed my view of Tyler completely. "He's adopted, remember? I can't have kids because I'm a nindroid." I could tell by his tone of voice that saying that hurt.
"Did you ever tell him this?" Lloyd asked quietly. Zane nodded. "That might be part of the reason for his anger. He might feel rejected or something."
"Maybe." Zane paused. "Just please be patient with him. You all know he was tested for insanity."
"Yea, but it's barely there... right?" Uncle Jay asked nervously.
Zane sighed. "It's... gotten worse."
After that, I was so stunned that I quietly sneaked upstairs and into the backyard to be alone. I needed to collect my thoughts.
Steph's P.O.V.
Tyler was really upset about training, so I followed him outside to try to make him feel better. Jess said she would tell on me for leaving the house but I didn't care. "Tylerrrrrr!" I called, running after him.
"Fuck off," he said over his shoulder. That didn't stop me. I kept running until I was next to him. Mommy always said I was fast for my age. I miss her.
I pulled on his shirt and asked "Why are you sad, Tyler?"
He glanced down and me. "I don't see how this concerns you."
"Because you're my friend and when my friends are sad I'm sad." He stayed silent, so I tried thinking of something to cheer him up. "If you're upset about messing up in training it's ok because I don't do so well either and Daddy says it's ok if you don't pick it up at first and-" And then he freezed my feets to the ground.
"Stop following me," he said.
"Wait! Tyler, I'm stuck! Help meeee!"
"You have fire powers, use 'em." I tried, but I couldn't concentrate or something and it wouldn't work and I just started crying.
Tyler turned around when I started crying. He walked back towards me and said, "Shit, kid. What are ya cryin' for?"
"I'm stuck," I sniffled. He knelt down in front of me. For once I think his eyes looked softer and not so angry at everything.
"All you have to do is concentrate. Concentrate on everything that's ever gone wrong with your life. Let that fuel your powers. That's what I do." I closed my eyes and thought about the bad things in my life like he said, except I didn't have much to hate. I thought about the Serpentine and how they took Mommy. That was a bad thing to concentrate on, right?
Suddenly I felt my hands heat up slightly and I looked down to see the fire shooting out of my hands and melting the ice!
"Tyler, I did it!" Once I was free I gave him a big hug. At first he seemed shocked, but then he hugged me back. Everyone thinks he's a scary person but he can also be really nice.
Joey's P.O.V.
Jess came into the backyard. "Hey, Joey? Can you go tell Steph to come back inside before she gets in trouble?"
"What? Where did she go?"
"Um, she was following Tyler..."
"WHAT?!" I immediately remembered what I overheard the adults saying. Tyler was INSANE. He could KILL HER.
I jumped up and ran out the door. I saw Tyler and Steph... hugging? Yea, right, he could be preparing to kill her.
"Hey Tyler! Get away from my sister!"
He stepped away from her and gave me his signature grin that sent shivers down my spine. "I do whatever the hell I want, Sparky." I hate that name. Tyler knows I hate that name.
"Steph, just come back inside before I tell Dad." She tried the puppy dog eyes, but I didn't budge. I wasn't going to let Tyler hurt her. Steph finally put her head down and walked over to me. I grabbed her hand and saw Tyler's eyes turn impossibly darker. Then he turned away and continued walking down the street.
I knelt down and looked into Steph's eyes. "You need to listen to me, ok? Stay away from him. He could seriously hurt you."
"But he's nice."
"No, he's not. Listen to me or else you WILL get hurt, ok?"
She paused for a while. "Fine."
We walked back to the house in silence.
Drama is beginning to brew between the ninja. Some of you have wondered how Zane can have kids. Well, there's your answer - he can't.
Like I mentioned in the beginning of the chapter, I'm trying to update as fast as I can. Feel free to bug me if I'm not updating fast enough.
Please review, and have a wonderful day :)